Afghan election hailed as Taliban threat remains

An Afghan police officer stands guard as Afghan election workers, right, note serial numbers of ballot boxes at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)
The Associated Press

An Afghan police officer stands guard as Afghan election workers, right, note serial numbers of ballot boxes at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

An Afghan election worker carries out of a ballot box from a truck at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of the Balkh province, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)The Associated Press

An Afghan election worker carries out of a ballot box from a truck at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of the Balkh province, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Mustafa Najafizada)

An Afghan elections worker notes the serial numbers of ballot boxes at a warehouse Independent Elections Commission in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)The Associated Press

An Afghan elections worker notes the serial numbers of ballot boxes at a warehouse Independent Elections Commission in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

An Afghan election worker rests while working with ballot boxes at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)The Associated Press

An Afghan election worker rests while working with ballot boxes at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

An Afghan election worker notes serial numbers of ballot boxes at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)The Associated Press

An Afghan election worker notes serial numbers of ballot boxes at a warehouse of the Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

Afghan election workers carry out ballot boxes from a truck at an Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)The Associated Press

Afghan election workers carry out ballot boxes from a truck at an Independent Elections Commission warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Trucks and donkeys loaded with ballot boxes made their way to counting centers on Sunday as Afghans and the international community sighed with relief that national elections were held without major violence despite a Taliban threat. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

Afghan presidential candidate Zalmai Rassoul speaks during a press conference, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats and crowded into mosques and schools being used as polling centers to vote Saturday for a new president and provincial councils. The international community has widely praised Afghanistan for holding national elections that saw a heavy turnout despite complaints about a shortage of ballots and reports of fraud. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)The Associated Press

Afghan presidential candidate Zalmai Rassoul speaks during a press conference, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats and crowded into mosques and schools being used as polling centers to vote Saturday for a new president and provincial councils. The international community has widely praised Afghanistan for holding national elections that saw a heavy turnout despite complaints about a shortage of ballots and reports of fraud. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

Afghan presidential candidate Zalmai Rassoul speaks during a press conference, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats and crowded into mosques and schools being used as polling centers to vote Saturday for a new president and provincial councils. The international community has widely praised Afghanistan for holding national elections that saw a heavy turnout despite complaints about a shortage of ballots and reports of fraud. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)The Associated Press

Afghan presidential candidate Zalmai Rassoul speaks during a press conference, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats and crowded into mosques and schools being used as polling centers to vote Saturday for a new president and provincial councils. The international community has widely praised Afghanistan for holding national elections that saw a heavy turnout despite complaints about a shortage of ballots and reports of fraud. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)

An Afghan police officer provides security as a truck carrying ballot boxes arrives at the election commission office after votes in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Across Afghanistan, voters turned out in droves Saturday to cast ballots in a crucial presidential election. The vote will decide who will replace President Hamid Karzai, who is barred constitutionally from seeking a third term. Partial results are expected as soon as Sunday. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)The Associated Press

An Afghan police officer provides security as a truck carrying ballot boxes arrives at the election commission office after votes in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 6, 2014. Across Afghanistan, voters turned out in droves Saturday to cast ballots in a crucial presidential election. The vote will decide who will replace President Hamid Karzai, who is barred constitutionally from seeking a third term. Partial results are expected as soon as Sunday. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghans and the international community hailed its presidential election as a triumph of democracy over violence Sunday, despite complaints about ballot shortages and sporadic fraud after millions of people braved a Taliban threat to vote for a new president. But some cautioned against declaring a premature defeat of the Islamic militants.

Securing the vote was a test for Afghan government forces as they prepare to take full responsibility for their own security as the U.S. and allied forces end their combat mission at the end of this year. The consensus was that they largely passed, though there was sporadic violence.

A roadside bomb hit a pickup truck transporting ballot boxes Sunday in the northern province of Kunduz, killing three people, officials said. But the major attacks that had been feared did not materialize.

"This in itself is a victory over violence and a victory over all those who wanted to deter democracy by threats and violence," said Thijs Berman, the head of the European Union's election assessment team in Kabul.

Electoral officials, meanwhile, urged patience, saying officials continued to log complaints and tally ballots. The ballots were coming from more than 20,000 polling stations nationwide, some in extremely remote and rural areas. They were being transported to tally centers in all 34 provinces before the results reach Kabul.

Some candidate forecasts and partial results are expected in the coming days. Noor Mohammad Noor, a spokesman for the Independent Election Commission, said preliminary results were due April 24 and final results will be announced May 14.

With a crowded field of eight candidates, nobody was expected to get the majority needed to win outright. That would force a runoff between the top two vote-getters, which would be held at the end of May. President Hamid Karzai was constitutionally banned from seeking a third term.

Noor said initial reports show a turnout of more than 7 million people, nearly 60 percent of eligible voters. That was sharply up from the estimated 4.5 million people vote in 2009's presidential and provincial council elections, which were marred by widespread vote-rigging.

The Taliban had warned voters to stay home, saying election workers and polling centers were fair game. A spokesman for the group, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed in a statement Sunday that more than 1,000 attacks took place "to disrupt the fake and predetermined elections set up by America." The group often exaggerates its claims.

A number of high-profile attacks before Saturday, including two on offices of the Independent Election Commission and several targeting foreigners, heightened concern. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan security forces fanned out and erected checkpoints at intersections, searching cars and people. Workers also patted down voters, in some cases three times, before they entered polling stations.

Martine van Bijlert, co-director of an independent research group called the Afghanistan Analysts Network, said the days ahead would be key to determining if the Taliban failed to disrupt the vote or if they purposefully laid low on due to the heavy security measures.